UFC News & FeaturesWomen’s Flyweights
Miranda Maverick (11-5, 4-3 UFC) vs. Priscila Cachoeira (12-4, 4-4 UFC)ODDS: Maverick (-305), Cachoeira (+240)
Maverick still has a high ceiling at just 26 years of age, but it would be nice if her path to realizing that potential became a lot smoother. Maverick’s bread and butter was her wrestling when she came into the UFC in 2020, and what was a solid amount of hype got even louder after a striking-heavy win over Liana Jojua and a one-sided victory over Gillian Robertson. However, the back half of 2021 dulled a lot of Maverick’s momentum. Her loss to Maycee Barber was a controversial split decision, but after a subsequent domination at the hands of Erin Blanchfield, the narrative was suddenly that Maverick had been lapped by the other young prospects at 125 pounds. With a camp change and some more development of her striking, Maverick put together solid wins over Sabina Mazo and Shanna Young in 2022 year, but there was the overall sense she was struggling with becoming more of a generalist in a way that maximized her effectiveness; and a frustrating defeat to Jasmine Jasudavicius in June brought that to the forefront, as Maverick was unable to get much done against a much more focused opponent. A quick turnaround against Cachoeira offers the opportunity of a rebound, though the Brazilian has overachieved to a surprising degree during her half-decade on the UFC roster. “Zombie Girl” came to the promotion as a one-dimensional brawler who figured to have some struggles in the big time, and a series of late changes led to a particularly brutal UFC debut against Valentina Shevchenko, who performed a one-sided mauling that left Cachoeira with some major injuries. Cachoeira did not show much in her subsequent affairs, but she surprisingly saved her job with a 40-second knockout of Shana Dobson and has done decently well since, picking her spots to cause chaos a bit more patiently and taking advantage of some matchmaking that has been light on wrestling-heavy opponents. Things could be rough for Maverick in the first minute or two, as she has not looked particularly comfortable under pressure on the feet, but she will undoubtedly look for a takedown rather than engage in a brawl. If Cachoeira cannot score an immediate knockout, she will soon find herself in a ton of trouble on the mat. The pick is Maverick via first-round submission.
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